Long Beach Unified board votes to cut another $11.7 million

LONG BEACH — The Long Beach Unified School District saw another round of budget cuts on Tuesday with the approval of a $11.7 million savings plan that includes reduced services, consolidation and the elimination of vacant positions.

The five-member school board unanimously approved the reductions, which include a reduction of hours for school counselors, deans and assistant principals at middle and elementary schools.

Special education saw one of the largest cuts with a nearly $3 million reduction of services, including reduced administrative and teaching positions, cutbacks in office assistance and the loss of an occupational therapist who is retiring.

Tuesday's action doesn't include teacher layoffs, but the plan does call for about 16 layoffs of other staff.

The latest round of reductions is the second of a two-phase plan to shave more than $20 million from the school district's $700 million operating budget for the 2012-2013 fiscal year.

In February, the district slashed $9.6 million from its budget in a proposal that included more than 300 layoffs. The Head Start preschool program took the largest hit with the loss of all of its 126 employees.

The program's future remains uncertain.

On Tuesday, district officials had also proposed a reorganization of the custodial services department with a plan to lay off five custodial managers and move plant supervisors from day shifts to night shifts for a savings of about $201,000. The decision was hotly contested by about a dozen custodial workers who voiced their opinion at Tuesday's meeting.

However, the board voted to remove the issue from the agenda at the urging of Superintendent Chris Steinhauser. Steinhauser said the district will be speaking with custodial services this week on other possible solutions for reorganization.

Custodial Manager Sam Dimas said he was notified by the district on Friday that he and four other managers no longer had a job.

"I was shocked," said Dimas, a district employee for 27 years.

Dimas said he hopes custodial services and the school district can work out an agreement this week. Custodial managers, he said, play a vital role in the safety, cleanliness and function of school buildings.

"Our kids deserve to have a safe and clean environment where they can learn," he said. "But without us there to supervise, our kids are going to lose out."

The school district is projecting a loss of about $19 million this year under Gov. Jerry Brown's budget plan. In the worst-case scenario, the district could lose $30 million in annual funding if the governor's proposed tax initiative fails to pass in November.